#480Thursday, June 26, 2025
Strands answers for June 26, 2025 — “Fowl business” (#480)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for June 26, 2025 (puzzle #480) is GAMEBIRDS, a 9-letter answer to the theme "Fowl business". The 6 theme words are GOOSE, GROUSE, PARTRIDGE, PHEASANT, QUAIL and TURKEY.
Where is each answer on the June 26 Strands board?
Strands #480 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram GAMEBIRDS.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOSE | 5 | row 7, column 4 | row 6, column 1 | right to left |
| GROUSE | 6 | row 4, column 6 | row 1, column 6 | bottom to top |
| PARTRIDGE | 9 | row 5, column 3 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
| PHEASANT | 8 | row 1, column 2 | row 4, column 1 | top to bottom |
| QUAIL | 5 | row 2, column 4 | row 2, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| TURKEY | 6 | row 7, column 1 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| GAMEBIRDS | 9 | row 5, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the June 26 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #480 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 9 letters6 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads H-P-U-A-I-E, row 2 reads E-S-B-Q-L-S, row 3 reads A-A-E-I-U-R, row 4 reads T-N-M-R-O-G, row 5 reads G-A-P-A-D-S, row 6 reads E-S-O-O-R-T, row 7 reads T-R-Y-G-I-R, and row 8 reads U-K-E-E-G-D.
How hard was the June 26 Strands puzzle?
Strands #480 scores average on our difficulty index, harder than 52% of every Strands puzzle published so far.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the June 26 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #480 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the June 26 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on June 26, 2025?
The Strands clue for June 26, 2025 is “Fowl business”, on puzzle #480. It is answered by the spangram GAMEBIRDS, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on June 26, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for June 26, 2025 are GOOSE, GROUSE, PARTRIDGE, PHEASANT, QUAIL and TURKEY, plus the spangram GAMEBIRDS.
What was the big word in the June 26, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for June 26, 2025 is GAMEBIRDS, 9 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 5, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Fowl business” mean?
The Strands theme “Fowl business” for June 26, 2025 means GAMEBIRDS — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands June 26, 2025?
Strands puzzle #480 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the June 26, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #480 rates average on a computed index, harder than 52% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on June 26, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, June 26, 2025 is #480, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in June 2025, part of the full Strands archive.